Clint Hurdle likely returning for 2026, but role undetermined

Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag Pose a Rockies- or MLB-related question for the Rockies Mailbag Do you see Clint Hurdle returning to the coaching staff for Austin Steffens Greeley The Rockies are planning for Hurdle to remain with the organization in several quota in I don t know the specifics yet but I doubt he ll be part of the big-league coaching staff under manager Warren Schaeffer Hurdle spent last season with the Rockies first as the hitting coach then as the bench coach I m advised that with the club still hiring coaches front-office personnel and minor league staff Hurdle s role is still being discussed We should know soon For Paul DePodesta and new GM Josh Byrnes what s more vital Building a top- offense or a top- pitching staff Tyler Windsor Tyler that s a great question Let me start with a reality check Because of Coors Field and baseball at altitude I don t see the Rockies ever having a top- pitching staff A top- offense For sure they have done that several times before As for what s significant right now the priority has to be upgrading the pitching There were too plenty of games lost last season when the starting pitching was so bad that the Rockies really never had a chance Bad starting pitching sucked the life out of the company Consider Colorado starters had a ERA That s the worst since ERA became an official statistic in The Rockies were outscored by runs That minus- run differential surpassed the previous modern record of minus- set by the Boston Red Sox In the first inning the Rockies opponents scored runs The Rockies scored Ouch Colorado s first-inning ERA was and hitters raked them at a clip Double ouch Related Articles Rockies hire Ian Levin as assistant general manager Grading The Week Avalanche need to avoid first-round dogfight vs Dallas Quinn Hughes in Stanley Cup Playoffs Trading Brenton Doyle might have to be part of new direction for Rockies Brett Pill named Rockies new hitting coach faces big challenge Rockies select right-handed reliever RJ Petit with first overall pick in Rule Draft When a club loses games as the Rockies did almost everything was bad but I think fixing the starting pitching is DePodesta s No priority Are the Rockies making any progress Ed Helinski Auburn N Y Ed first of all thanks for being a mailbag contributor from afar It s much appreciated Short answer to your short question Yes The Rockies noted they would reshape the front office by bringing in outsiders They have done precisely that by hiring Paul DePodesta president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes general manager Tommy Tanous and Ian Levin assistant GMs and Matt Daniels pitching director There is a good mix of forward-thinking baseball folks trying to reshape the unit It s a good start The roster is essentially the same as it was at the end of the season save for the addition of lefty reliever Brennan Bernardino who was acquired from the Red Sox We ll see what other roster additions are made in the coming weeks But so far I ve been encouraged Hi Patrick for the first time in nearly a decade I feel somewhat optimistic Our front office looks like it s in the end moving into the st century Is this a push from Walker Monfort since his promotion And what do you think constitutes a effective season for the Rox A -game improvement and not losing games for the first time in four years Mark Arvada Mark I believe Monfort deserves a lot of credit When he was promoted to executive vice president several people within the organization mentioned it was a smart hire praising Monfort for being open-minded forward-thinking and proactive I was skeptical I didn t think owner Dick Monfort Walker s dad would cede as much power as he apparently has I also didn t think the Rockies would be aggressive in pursuing outside talent for the front office I was wrong Still a -game improvement to avoid another -loss season is a tall order The unit on the field still has so various question marks and flaws Ask me again as spring training nears and the roster takes shape How do you think the offseason plays out for us Patrick Do you see us being more evolving than we have in previous years and targeting decent free agents Thanks Mike Denver Mike this seemingly isn t what you want to hear but I don t see the Rockies being very progressing in free agency this offseason I do anticipate various trades but I think the new front office is still trying to sort out the talent in the organization A blueprint for the future is still being drawn up and I don t think this is the time to be spending a lot of money on free agents However it wouldn t surprise me if the Rockies sign a veteran to play first base I ve heard so much about Charlie Condon being the next big thing for the Rockies When is he going to make his debut And what s going on with Zac Veen Marshall Parker Parker I m excited about Condon s prospective He s a smart talented and disciplined young member He might be the first baseman the Rockies hoped Michael Toglia would become but never did At the winter meetings earlier this month Paul DePodesta president of baseball operations made an fascinating comment when I requested him about filling the hole at first base The first-round pick from two years ago is also a pretty good-looking sportsman he disclosed referring to Condon The -year-old Condon selected out of Georgia with the third overall pick in flashed promise last season At High-A Spokane he hit with three homers in games He struggled a bit after his promotion to Double-A Hartford hitting and slugging home runs in games So he s got to get a lot more professional at-bats before he s ready to face major league pitching A call to the big leagues might come in the second half of the season but I wouldn t count on it As for Veen I m wondering if he s ever going to make an impact in the major leagues A combination of injuries bad offensive habits shaky defense and immaturity has stalled his progress Spring training unless he s traded will tell us a lot about his Rockies future The ninth overall selection in the draft in recent days turned He put up solid numbers at Triple-A Albuquerque last season slashing with home runs five triples and doubles in games He s shown flashes of talent but his minor league career has been a roller coaster His major league experience has been limited to just games and plate appearances He struggled slashing with one home run and strikeouts K-rate Want more Rockies news Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis